Pant legs with changeable cuffs

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to pants and especially blue jeans that are provided with decorative exchangeable cuffs. The bottoms of jeans made from denim material and other pants have an area that is often hangs in folds or wrinkles over the shoes and is otherwise unsightly. This application provides detachable decorative cuffs with a vertical side slit that make the lower end portion of jeans more attractive and stylish. The detachable connecting elements can include buttons, snaps or hook and loop material on the pants and cuffs are located in predetermined locations to permit interchangeability among a wide variety of cuff styles and colors.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 29/231,900 filed Jun. 13, 2005

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to trousers, and more particularly, to trousers commonly referred to as blue jeans that are provided with decorative exchangeable cuffs.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The prior art discloses shirts and trousers with detachable sections. Examples of such are

U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,435 to Miele

U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,892 to Tisdale et al.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,932 to Howard

U.S. Pat. No. 2,104,826 to Stramiello

U.S. Pat. No. 1,089,999 to Watts

U.S. Pat. No. 1,066,713 to Cronin

U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,001 to Bailey

U.S. Pat. No. 1,023,864 to Miller

Miele discloses trousers having interchangeable tubular pant leg sections or elements connected by snap fasteners. A primary purpose of the Miele invention is stated as being to provide a convertible trouser, which may be adjusted to provide various leg lengths. While the specification, with respect to FIG. 4, speaks of interchanging sections there is no mention of applying the invention to blue jeans. Also, the lower elements 20 and 48 do not have a vertical slit that would enable them to hang with minimum wrinkling or doubling-up over and around a wearer's shoe.

Blue jeans made from denim material have become normal public attire worn by men and women throughout most of the world. Recently, expensive jeans worn by young girls and women, which are often referred to as “designer jeans,” have been provided with a variety of elaborate decoration. Some of the decoration has taken the form of various color patterns or the stitching of designs into various portions of the garment including the pockets and front and back portions of the legs. However, an area that has generally been overlooked is the bottom of the pant legs. The pant legs of jeans are usually constructed longer than other trousers such that the extra material often hangs in folds or wrinkles over the shoes and at times even drags on the ground. This portion of the jeans often becomes unsightly after a period of wear and often takes on a wrinkled and frayed appearance. Even with designer jeans when the wearer would not wish to have the pant legs extra long and wrinkled the bottom area is perhaps the least attractive part of the jeans and may worsen as the jeans are worn. Repair of the worn cuff area is generally a complicated procedure. Thus a need exists to make the lower end portion of jeans more attractive and stylish. Also, a desire exists to make the cuff area of jeans more attractive and stylish and to permit a wearer to be able to change the appearance of the jeans for different occasions and for different times of the day.

Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide jeans and other pants with readily changeable cuffs of contrasting material and color to enable a wearer to quickly and easily change cuffs to coordinate their attire with other clothing colors or styles to suit different situations or circumstances.

It is a further object to provide jeans and other pants with changeable cuffs of contrasting material and appearance to provide a professional tailored appearance that would appeal to persons of all ages and circumstances.

It is a further object of the invention to be able to provide a readily changeable cuff to provide an inexpensive way to decorate jeans and other pants and make them more attractive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pair of jeans showing the changeable cuffs on each pant leg.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the end of one pant leg and a changeable cuff according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a modified version of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is illustrated in outline a pair of women's' jeans 15 wherein the lower leg portions 20 are shown as having changeable cuffs 26 removably secured to the bottom end of each pant leg. The jeans illustrated are specially designed and constructed from denim or other similar material. The pant legs are slightly foreshortened from normal length to allow for the added length of the attached cuffs 26.

Each pant leg includes a plurality of buttons 24 secured along the lower edge thereof. The buttons 24 are spaced a consistent preset distance apart such that they will align with any one of a wide variety of cuffs 22 each having correspondingly spaced button holes 25. The cuffs 22 include a normally closed vertical side slit 26 formed by overlapping ends of the cuff. The slit 26 is preferably positioned on the outer side portion of the leg and extends upwardly approximately three-quarter of the height of the cuff. The slit 26 allows the lower portion of the cuff ends to expand to drape more smoothly over a user's shoe with a minimum of wrinkling. The result is cuffed jeans that look stylishly tailored. The slits 26 also ease the passage of a wearer's feet when the jeans are to be worn.

A wide variety of styles and colors for the interchangeable cuffs 22 may be offered to potential customers to provide numerous styles to suit different age groups, tastes, and occasions. The materials used in constructing the cuffs will not normally include denim but will be chosen to provide a contrast thereto or whatever material the pants are made from. There are an unlimited number of choices of materials colors and designs that can be chosen for the cuffs. For example, it is contemplated that a fur trim could be used. Thus a wide variety of choices will be afforded to a wearer of the jeans or other pants for any occasion.

In the drawings, buttons and mating buttonholes have been illustrated on the jeans and cuffs, respectively. Other attaching means such as snaps, hooks and eyelets or strips of oppositely facing hook and loop structure could also be used. If separate fasteners such as snaps or hooks and eyelets are being used the spacing between such fasteners would need to be consistent as it is with the buttons and buttonholes as describe above. If hook and loop structure were to be used a preferred method would be to attach a continuous outwardly facing strip 30 around the lower outer surface of the pant leg 20. A mating corresponding strip of hook and loop material 32 would be attached around the inwardly facing upper surface of the cuffs 22.

The floral design 36 (FIG. 3) shows one possible type of decoration applied to the cuffs. 

1. A pair of jeans having leg portions, each leg portion having a plurality of outwardly facing fastening elements positioned at predetermined locations, a pair of cuffs, each cuff being constructed from a material contrasting with that of the jeans and adapted to be removably secured to a respective leg portion, each cuff including a plurality of securing elements positioned at locations corresponding to the positions of the fastening elements on the leg portion, each cuff including a vertical side slit extending upwardly from the bottom edge thereof to enable the cuff lower portion to expand over and around a user's shoe without wrinkling or doubling-up.
 2. The jeans of claim 1, wherein the securing and fastening elements comprise cooperating strips of hook and loop material secured to the pant legs and cuffs, respectively.
 3. The jeans of claim 1, wherein the leg portions are foreshortened.
 4. The jeans of claim 1, wherein the fastening elements are buttons and the securing elements are buttonholes.
 5. The jeans of claim 1, wherein the fastening elements and the securing elements are hooks and eyelets.
 6. The jeans of claim 1, wherein the fastening elements and the securing elements are of hook and loop construction.
 7. The jeans of claim 1, wherein the fastening elements and the securing elements are female and male snap elements, respectively.
 8. A pair of pants having leg portions, each leg portion having a fastening strip of outwardly facing hook and loop material at a predetermined location thereon, a pair of cuffs, each cuff being constructed from a material contrasting with that of the pants and adapted to be removably secured to a respective leg portion, each cuff including a mating strip of hook and loop material positioned at a location on the inner surface of the cuff to mate with the strip of hook and loop fastening material on the leg portion, each cuff including a vertical side slit extending upwardly from the bottom edge thereof to enable the cuff lower portion to expand over and around a user's shoe without wrinkling or doubling-up.
 9. The pants of claim 8, wherein they are constructed from denim material.
 10. A pair of pants having leg portions, each leg portion having an outwardly facing fastening element positioned at a predetermined location near the lower edge thereof, a pair of cuffs, each cuff being constructed from a material contrasting with that of the pants and adapted to be removably secured to a respective leg portion, each cuff including an inwardly facing securing element positioned at a location opposite to the position of the fastening element on the leg portion, each cuff including a vertical side slit extending upwardly from the bottom edge thereof to enable the cuff lower portion to expand over and around a user's shoe without wrinkling or doubling-up. 